


begrudgingly

by the-black-birb (moriturism)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23750131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moriturism/pseuds/the-black-birb
Summary: It's been a while since you've been alone with Tsukishima, but he never disappoints.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 176





	begrudgingly

Tsukishima Kei couldn’t stand you. Most days he was forced to be around you, he had Yamaguchi with him to take the attention off of you, but today it was just you and him.

You were neighbors since childhood and his mother, ever the gossip, had volunteered him (since childhood) to walk you home. The two of you had known each other since diapers, to his dismay.

He wasn’t sure if it was necessarily _you_ that he disliked, but he was fairly positive if there was any person on the world he was forced to spend as much time with as you, he would despise him. You had somehow managed to be in _every single class_ with him since primary school. And every day, he’d walk you to and from school.

One of Tsukishima’s favorite parts of doing volleyball, in fact, was being freed from your presence. Now, he only had to see you _most_ of the day. When Yamaguchi befriended him, it was even better. Yamaguchi would amuse you, and he could simply walk with his headphones on, unbothered (although usually, there was no music playing at all because he was far more interested in the sound of your voice).

But today practice had been canceled and Yamaguchi was busy and for the first time in months, it was simply you and him, alone. Your joyful attitude and bright smile reminded him too much a certain middle blocker, causing him disdain. _And_ , you wanted to talk to him. In Tsukishima’s opinion, it was far too much work.

“So, Kei.” Your smile was blinding, he noted. “How’ve you been? It’s been a while since we got to talk!”

Tsukishima clicks his tongue, wondering what he could possibly say that was interesting. You were in the same classes as him, and he was certain Yamaguchi told you everything happening with volleyball. What more was there to say? “Same old,” he keeps it brief.

You hum to yourself, trying to make something of his dull responses. “I saw in the last game you got new glasses. Is there a story behind them?” you ask, looking up at him expectantly. Your eyes were always wide with curiosity, the depth within them endless. For Tsukishima, it unnerved him. For someone who acted to shallow, you were surprisingly perceptive.

“You go to our games?” he asks, surprised. Then, he remembers their last game was for nationals, against Shiratorizawa, and practically the entire school was there. _Of course, she went,_ he thinks, heart sinking dejectedly.

Instead, you smile brightly at him. “Yeah, I go to all your games!” you cheer. “What, you haven’t seen me from the stands?” you fake a pout, before continuing to skip beside him playfully.

Tsukishima feels something tight in his chest but ignores it. It’s nothing.

“My brother bought the sports glasses for me so I didn’t damage my normal ones,” he explains plainly, pushing his glasses up out of habit. He wonders if you saw him block Ushijima at the last game or all of his success before that. Have you been watching him?

He opens his mouth to say something. He’s not sure what, but you’ve caught him hook, line, and sinker, and he wants to continue talking with him. But before he can speak, you’re distracted by something else.

“Oh! Let’s get ice cream!” you exclaim. Tsukishima follows your eyes to the familiar Sakanoshita store and grumbles internally. Did he really have to see his coach on his day off?

But you’re already inside, and he is following you tiredly. As soon as Tsukishima enters, Ukai has his eyes on him.

“You’re bringing a girl here?” he raises his eyebrows suggestively. Tsukishima groans.

“Mom makes me walk her home,” he tries to justify, ignoring the way Ukai looks at him. Tsukishima throws his over his shoulder to look at you, still struggling over which ice cream you’ll get. “Grab me a strawberry one,” he demands and you have half a mind to nod in response.

“Too bad,” Ukai hums. “She’s cute. You should snatch her up before someone else does.” Tsukishima winces, knowing very well that’s a possibility. There are always boys staring at you in class, after all, but they’re usually too intimidated by Tsukishima to approach. Seeing the nervous expression on Tsukishima’s face, Ukai simply blows smoke at him and laughs.

“Just tell her.”

Tsukishima opens his mouth in protest, but you are bounding up to him with ice cream in your hands, ready to pay. He takes it from you and lays it on the counter, getting out his wallet. Quick to leave, he pays for both of your ice creams before sending Ukai a dirty look.

He simply stares back smugly.

“I could’ve paid for it, you know,” you whined, opening your ice cream. “Next time, it’s on me.”

Tsukishima clicks his tongue, and for a moment he wants to tell you there won’t be a next time, out of reflex. But he thinks about Ukai again and swallows his words. “It’s no big deal,” he says calmly. “I had money, anyways.”

You shrug, eating your ice cream happily as the two of you walk home in silence. For a moment, Tsukishima is grateful for it. Finally, he has time to collect his thoughts and he is not being bombarded by your conversations.

Until, of course, you decided to keep talking again. Except this time it is a loud, shrill squeal.

“That is so cute!” you exclaim, pointing to the next block over. Knowing you won’t stop bothering him until he does, he looks over at the scene. On the corner of the street were tons of pink balloons floating around. A woman stands, hands clutched over his face in surprise, staring at a man on one knee. Around them, there are many people (family and friends? Tsukishima wonders) all staring at them. There is confetti and a huge stuffed bear and so much more sickeningly sweet things, Tsukishima wonders if he’ll get a cavity from being in the vicinity.

The woman says yes, and the crowd of people surrounding them erupt into cheer. Beside him, you are swooning.

“That’s so sweet,” you say, entranced.

Tsukishima shakes his head disapprovingly. “Ew, that is so sappy I think I might vomit,” he retorts, making a gagging gesture. Soon, he is walking away from the scene and you are following him.

You look disappointed, but he shakes the worry that makes him feel. It’s just a proposal, anyways. People get married all the time, and so many of them get divorced, too. What’s the big deal.

“Wait, let me guess? You think love is overrated,” you say, before sighing dreamily. “But isn’t it romantic to have someone pull out all the stops for you? To show that they’d do anything for you?” You ramble for a while, but Tsukishima tries to tune you out. Finally, once you’re a few blocks away, he decides he’s had enough.

He stops and turns to you, head tilting condescendingly. You recognize his stance. It’s how he stands whenever he’s about to give someone a scolding and explain to them why they are so incredibly inferior.

“What, you want someone to confess to you at a circus?” he asks, taking a step forward menacingly. “Do you think about how that woman felt, with all her family around her pressuring her to say yes?” He takes another step forward and you are suddenly aware that the two of you are in an incredibly empty space and the distance between you is closing quickly. “Someone who makes your romance a show for the people around you and gives you superficial gifts, is that what you want?” Now, your back is up against the wall and he is concerningly close to you. So close, you can smell the mint on his breath and see each of his individual eyelashes. So close, you can feel the way his breathing is just a bit faster than usual.

“So what do you think is better?” you respond, challenging him. But you are not looking him in the eyes, no, you are staring at his lips. You watch each word as it falls from his mouth, carefully seeing how they form into sounds. Every time his tongue goes to look his lips, you shiver.

And this is precisely why Tsukishima cannot stand you. Because whenever you are around, he loses his train of thought. He feels his heart pumping in his chest, hears it in his ears. When you smile, his whole world soars. He despises how much control you have over him, and how he would do _anything_ for you. But today he promises himself he won’t back down. He’ll be the one to make you embarrassed, the one to make you lose your mind for him.

“If I were to say to you right now,” Tsukishima asks, bending in closer to you. “I have been in love with you since you first started calling me Kei when we were three. I have wanted to see you every day of my life since I first started walking with you to school. I have wanted to kiss you, hold you, and love you since you first started wearing lip gloss. I have wanted to _marry_ you for as long as I have known you, what would you do? Would you not think that a modest confession in private was romantic? Would I disappoint you?” Although his words are passionate, he says them like a threat. He intends on challenging your perception of love. He intends on challenging every boy that has ever given you a half-assed confession, any boy who has given you shitty chocolates on white day, and any person who has dared love you less fervently than he has.

Also, he really hopes you’re embarrassed.

But instead, you bark out laughter. Tsukishima, who had been trying his best to remain composed, is caught off guard, but suddenly your hands are on him, wrapping around his neck and pulling you down. For a moment, Tsukishima forgets how ridiculously perceptive you are and have always been.

Your breath is hot on his ear as you whisper, “I would tell you that you’re not awfully good at hiding it.” You pull back from him for a moment to acknowledge the flushed expression on his face, cheeks red. You admire your handiwork, but only for a moment because soon you are pulling him back down again to kiss him passionately.

When you pull away, Tsukishima is breathing heavy but he has no regrets. Instead, he presses his forehead to yours and wraps his arms tightly around your waist. “I’ve been waiting _so_ long to do that,” he whispers to you.

You smile at him lovingly.

“I know, babe,” you assure him. “Me too.”


End file.
